Part 2 - Psychosocial Hazards and Workplace Culture

Toxic workplace culture refers to an environment where negative behaviours, unhealthy norms and poor leadership practises become part of how the workplace operates, rather than being challenged or corrected. It's often not defined by a single event or person, but by a pattern of issues that slowly erodes trust, wellbeing and morale across teams.

In these environments employees may feel undervalued, unsupported and unable to speak up. This can create poor psychosocial safety that discourages collaboration and reduces motivation.

While the symptoms may look different from one workplace to another, the result is often the same. A disengaged and inefficient workforce, and a culture where employees struggle to thrive.

Why understanding toxic workplace culture matters

Understanding workplace culture isn't just a concern for the human resources team but is a business-critical issue in today's society. Culture influences everything from retention and engagement to reputation and long-term growth of Australian workplaces. A healthy culture is no longer a ‘nice to have’, its central for people to assess whether a workplace aligns with their values and wellbeing.

Toxic workplaces rarely grow overnight; they often grow quietly and gradually. Without a conscious effort to identify and address early warning signs, issues can compound until they start affecting performance, employee engagement and leadership credibility.

As discussed in part one of this blog series, recognising the risks is the first step. We will now explore how to spot the signs of toxic workplace culture, what causes it, how it affects your workplace and how to take practical steps toward building healthier, high performing teams.

Key signs your workplace may be experiencing toxicity

A toxic workplace culture can be hard to recognise in the day-to-day operations. Often it becomes ‘normal’ over time until employee turnover spikes, engagement drops and feedback becomes impossible to ignore.

Warning signs to watch out for:

1. Poor leadership

   • When leadership lacks in transparency, consistency and empathy, it signals that employees are not a priority. This often creates confusion, fear or frustration across teams.

2. Unclear communication

   • Mixed messages, inconsistent expectations or a lack of honest feedback quickly undermines trust. A toxic workplace culture often includes one way communication or conversations that are reactive rather than proactive.

3. Low or no boundaries in the workplace

   • A requirement to consistently work overtime, skip breaks or reply to emails outside of work hours signals poor workplace boundaries. Work life balance is essential to long term performance.

4. High employee turnover

   • If your top performers are consistently leaving look beyond the exit interviews. Toxic workplace culture is one of the most common reasons for voluntary turnover and one of the most preventable.

5. Gossip, Cliques or evasion

   • Persistent office gossip, favouritism or a dominance of ‘in groups’ can indicate a lack of trust and inclusion which often leaves workers feeling isolated and disengaged.

6. Lack of wellbeing and support

   • When mental health and wellbeing are not embedded into your workplace culture, employees are more likely to feel burnout. Toxic workplaces often lack access to employee support systems and flexible work practises.

7. Low morale and engagement

   • If employees appear consistently demotivated, disinterested or withdrawn, it may be more than just a stressful week. Low morale reflects a deeper cultural issue.

Common causes of toxic work environments

Toxic workplace culture does not appear overnight, it often builds over time through repeated behaviours, structural issues or unaddressed leadership gaps. Left unchecked, these issues create a workplace where ‘reactivity’ becomes the norm and poor behaviours are tolerated or even rewarded.

Understanding what drives a poor workplace culture is the first step towards preventing or addressing it. Some of the most common in my own experience of conducting cultural reviews include:

1. Poor leadership practices

   • Workplace culture is driven at the top level of an organisation. Poor leadership practices often include a lack of transparency, inconsistent communication, inexperienced and/or poorly trained management who feel intimidated by more capable subordinates, avoid accountability or fail to show empathy. This will result in low staff morale and a climate of fear and / or frustration.

2. Misaligned values

   • When an organisations values are not reflected in day-to-day decision making, it creates confusion and cynicism. Employees quickly pick up on any disconnect between what is said and what is done, which erodes trust and meaningful engagement.

3. Unchecked stress and pressure

   • Unrealistic workloads, tight deadlines, chronic understaffing and poor succession planning can normalise burnout, and over time wellbeing is sidelined and high stress becomes part of the culture, driving employee resentment and reducing long term performance.

4. Limited diversity and inclusion

   • Without diverse representation or inclusive practices, certain voices dominate while others are silenced. This can create cliques, reinforce or reward bias and prevent meaningful collaboration.

5. No feedback culture

   • In a workplace where feedback is ignored, discouraged or non-existent, staff feel unheard and undervalued resulting a breakdown of trust and respect by staff towards management.  

What sets our workplace cultural reviews apart

Our clients trust us to navigate their most sensitive cultural challenges, due to our commitment to independence and focus on psychological safety.

• Rigorous and impartial – Our external perspective ensures findings are objective and credible, building trust with employees and management alike.

• Trauma informed approach - We prioritise the wellbeing of participants at every stage ensuring the process is safe, respectful and constructive.

• Focus on action - We deliver more than just a diagnosis. Our recommendations are practical, targeted and designed to create long term positive change.

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Case Study

Recently, the workplace in question received numerous complaints from staff which highlighted management and cultural challenges, psychological hazards, employee disengagement and a high staff turnover.

Brennan & Associates established trust with the workforce by conducting confidential individual interviews with all staff and managers resulting in open and honest disclosures about their concerns, frustrations and experiences.  The subsequent in-depth thematic analysis identified the root causes and key themes of the cultural dysfunction.

Our actionable immediate, short-term and long-term recommendations enabled the workplace to take chronological and targeted steps to improve the psychological safety of staff, rebuild trust within the workforce, re-establish a healthy culture and significantly reduce organisational risk.

The key themes consistently identified in the review included:

• High and sustained workload pressure

• Dependence on manual systems and processes

• Workforce capacity and retention risks

• Accountability gaps with business areas

• Leadership capability development needs

• Fatigue impacting morale and sustainability

Recommendations were provided in the following areas:

• Workforce Planning and Sustainability

• Workload Management and Service Delivery

• Systems and Process Improvement

• Leadership Capability and Consistency

• Psychological Safety and Escalation Pathways

• Training and Capability Development

• Career Pathways and Retention

• Flexible Work Practices

• Governance Oversight

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What happens after a Cultural Review is completed

A cultural review is just the beginning of your organisation’s culture transformation moving forward. Upon completion of the review, we provide a comprehensive report detailing our findings, an analysis of root causes and a set of clear prioritised recommendations. Our goal is to empower you with the evidence needed to build a healthier and more productive workplace.

Ready to build a better workplace culture?

A cultural review of your workplace is a powerful investment into your employees' and company's future, providing the clarity and confidence needed to address challenging problems, and build a foundation for lasting success across teams.

If you're ready to move from uncertainty to action and create a workplace culture where everyone can thrive, contact simon@wiswa.com.au to schedule a confidential discussion.